philosphy
People tell me that I have an artist's eye for everything that I do. My belief, is that everyone sees the world from a different perspective and it is a choice whether we choose to listen to and then share our personal point of view.
If you are willing to experiment - and stay open to trying something new - who knows what can result!
ALSO
I am looking for studio space or artist collective space so contact me if you know of anything!
MY JOURNEY
My visual surroundings were always important to me. When I was a kid, I would put on puppet shows with handmade characters on my backporch for the neighborhood kids. (That's me in the blue shirt) I was constantly re-arranging my bedroom furniture. My parents always got hand-made cards for their birthdays. When I went to college I majored in Advertising/PR, but I studied photography during a semester abroad in England and still now love capturing great images.
I am pretty much a self taught artist.
I have taken a few classes at Parsons School of Design in NYC - color theory and drawing from live models.
My best, most fulfilling art experiences, happened with experimentation on my own. I started playing around with faux finishing when I opened a home accessories shop in Montclair NJ. I faux finished on EVERYTHING! Walls, furniture, mantles - yep I was one of them. Soon, something else captured my interest - I started experimenting with broken dish mosaic. My shop was filled with custom mosaic pieces. You could come in an order something to be made in whatever medium you wanted - tiles, dishes, colored stones, shells - whatever.
I bought my first house, and that house needed landscaping. So in my usual 'can do' fashion, I went off and got a certificate in horticulture from the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx. I absolutely LOVED garden design and it turned out that other people needed someone to plant them a garden that they could enjoy too. So, that was another transition in art. I designed and installed gardens all over Northern NJ. Big and small.
And of course, there were some mosaics slipped into the gardens. Once again I was inspired by the natural world to experiment with color, texture and shape.
And then on to painting
I am so overwhelmingly (!) inspired by where I live in every way -- - coastal New Jersey.
You will notice that much of my portfolio contains ferris wheels. I grew up (and still live) in New Jersey and the boardwalks here have inspired my process for sure! I have fond memories of being a kid at my aunt's hotel just blocks off the Seaside Heights boardwalk in the late 60's and being free to roam the boardwalk completely unsupervised, playing the wheels, skeeball, water balloon races and taking in the smells of sausage sandwiches sizzling on the boardwalk stands.
In 2020 with the corona virus pandemic, being homebound brought out the abstract artist in me.
Just allowing brush and hand to free- associate is an amazing outlet and I have moved away from the subdued colors of shells and birds to vivid images filled with pinks, true black and bold turquoise.
I also have some news works of my focused observations of home environments. Creating fun color tableaus of chairs, tables, rugs - cheery colors that were much needed in the early days of the pandemic lockdown.
So stay curious! You never know what can develop.
Our lives are changing daily and I am rolling with what comes my way... ~Nancy
CV
MAKER + MUSE, Maplewood NJ September 2019 to present
MAIN STREET GALLERY, Manasquan NJ April 2019 to present
CANTERBURY ART SHOW, Rumson NJ Exhibition & Sale - September 2019
BUNGALOUNGE GALLERY, Long Branch NJ THE LOCALS May - June 2019 (curator & exhibitor)
ART ALLIANCE MONMOUTH COUNTY, Red Bank NJ 32nd Annual Juried Exhibition - April 2019
MONMOUTH MUSEUM, Lincroft NJ (Juried) Members Miniatures - January - May 2019
GUILD OF CREATIVE ART, Shrewsbury NJ 26TH Annual Juried Show - October 2018
ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS ARTS COUNCIL, Atlantic Highlands NJ Juried Member Show - August 2018
ART ALLIANCE MONMOUTH COUNTY, Red Bank NJ 31ST Annual Juried Exhibition - April 2018
CANTERBURY ART SHOW, Rumson NJ Exhibition & Sale - September 2017
TENTH MUSE GALLERY, Maplewood NJ Ongoing Exhibit & Sale August 2017 - February 2018
BEAUREGARD GALLERY, Rumson NJ Holiday Show - December 2016
CANTERBURY ART SHOW, Rumson NJ (Juried) Exhibition and Sale - September 2015